On the Charles County Board of Education website one might have noticed a place where it says News 96 on the home page. This segment features high school students giving the latest educational news of Charles County. Three of North Point’s very own are apart of this broadcast.
Samantha Corsey (’13), Julia Keesler (’13), and Murugi Thande (’13) are three of the eight students that give the news reports. They all had to audition in order to be part of Newsbreak 96.
The filming goes on at the Charles County Board of Education. The anchors start by reading the news that is given to them on the camera. After that they will start with the narration. “We specifically talk about anything in Charles County schools. It is all positive,” explained Thande.
None of the girls are doing it just for fun; they all have long term meanings for doing this. Thande said, “I really like journalism and I wanted to expand my horizon in it. By doing Newsbreak 96 I was introduced into the world of broadcasting.” Thande has been apart of this since the end of her sophomore year, longer than the other two North Point broadcasters.
Keesler has been apart of News 96 for about a year now. Mrs. Bogart, the media teacher, recommended that she audition for it. Keesler felt that this was a good start to what she wanted to do in the future. She participates “mainly for the experience behind the camera but also for the great resume builder,” said Keesler. Her goal is to work in the broadcasting industry or film acting.
New this year is Corsey. “I heard the announcement saying that there was an opportunity to be on TV and if I hear a sentence that connects me and TV, I am there,” said Corsey. Newsbreak 96 helped Corsey realize what she wanted to do in the future. “At the time my main goal was to be an actress so I was excited to see what it was they were talking about. Once I met Mr. Graves (Newsbreak 96’s producer and director) I realized it was more of a journalistic track then acting, but the more he discussed it, the more I became intrigued to audition.” Now Corsey plans on studying journalism and broadcasting once she gets to college. “After I auditioned I knew I wanted to be an anchor for Newsbreak 96, so I jumped up and down when Mr. Graves called me and said I got the job.”
Everyone has different things they like most about News 96. Keesler is very fond of all the professional equipment that she gets to work with. That includes things like a green screen, the camera, and a teleprompter. Thande loves working with Mr. Graves. “He makes things so much easier by telling us how he wants things said, going over things slowly so we get it,” Thande also adds, “I also love seeing myself on TV. My parents are so proud of me when they see me on TV.” Corsey’s favorite part about this broadcast is the experience. “It gives me a feel of a different profession, and it is sort of cool to have people come up to me and say they saw me on the website,” said Corsey.
